Chris Matthews Suddenly Retires On-Air and Social Media Has Thoughts

On Monday, political TV journalist Chris Matthews suddenly retired, on-air, from Hardball — the MSNBC political TV talk show he has hosted for over 20 years — and social media users have some thoughts about it. During his final broadcast, Matthews made the announcement that he was stepping down, saying, "Obviously, this isn't for lack of interest in politics," indicating that it was entirely his choice to leave. CNN reports that Matthews was told he needed to step down due to some recent controversies, both on and off air.

"After a conversation with MSNBC, I decided tonight will be my last Hardball, so let me tell you why," he went on to say. "The younger generation's out there ready to take the reins. We see them in politics, in media, in fighting for their causes. They're improving the workplace."

Some have pointed to comments Matthews made about Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders as a possible reason why he was asked to retire, and others have brought up allegations of inappropriate behavior behind the scenes.

Social media users have since been reacting to the surprising news, with the responses ranging from critical to supportive. Scroll down to see what Twitter users are saying.